Notes: Trust the crew from House Spirits (in the land of the serious foodies ) to come up with something completely different. Not content to rest on their laurels with their lovely and iconoclastic Aviation Gin,  Medeyoff Vodka, or Krogstad Aquavit, and their Sugar Cane Molasses Rum, they decided to try their hand at the Coffee Liqueur category ( one that is in serious need of quality examples). This is part of their limited edition series of spirits – spirits that they distill from time to time in even smaller than usual quantities more experimental projects than regular production items. Made from fresh Barbados molasses pot distilled rum and direct trade coffee roasted by Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Oregon

Appearance: Clear as a bell, black opaque  in the bottle, dark coffee gold in the glass thin oily edge line on swirling with mostly droplets and some legs forming.

First Impression: Great coffee with hints of  cinnamon, orange peel, and dried citrus fruit.

Taste: Full rich coffee flavor with tasteful, pleasantly muted flavors of Chinese Cinnamon, Orange Oils, and a proper but not overdone bit of sweetness. House Spirits uses Demarra Sugar (a full flavored brown sugar with some touches  molasses )  to lightly  sweeten a product that should (IMHO) should be a little sweet but not the sticky corn syrup stuff some other makers try to pass off as a quality liqueur

Hints of leather cinnamon, allspice and dried fruits with a bit of a bite from the alcohol make a a mixer rather than a sipper for most people.

Drinks: A great coffee liqueur for just sipping ( quite rare)  and an excellent one for use in cocktails or coffee correcto

Bottle: Small (375 ML)  clear glass apothecary style bottle with heavy glass bottom with a lab style label that is rather quaint as it is designed to look very much like it the information was typed on a typewriter..Attractive paper neck seal covers a plastic topped plastic cork ( which while it is not so traditional makes up for this by a better seal and no potential for natural cork floaters) , which still gives you that nice cork opening sound when you open it ( O.K. the dogs had the bell, I’ve got the cork sound)

Other: This liqueur has appeared in a few version with various proofs and variations of ingredients

Cigars: A small Cohiba Cigarillo.

Final Thoughts: A nicely done if somewhat expensive coffee liqueur compared to some . This is  balanced off by the fact that it is a micro distilled, small batch product using the highest quality ingredients rather than the many of its competitors who make mass produced over sweetened dreck.

Website: http://housespirits.com/

A fairly straightforward website that is easy to navigate.